Long Island Wins joins all Long Islanders of goodwill in offering our condolences to the loved ones of those killed in the attack on Charlie Hebdo’s offices and in the kosher market. We strongly condemn these acts of violence.
Long Islanders have also seen firsthand the terrible costs of extremism, and we re-affirm our commitment to an open-minded society where a free and full debate takes place in a spirit of respect and dignity.
We note also that one of the police officers killed in the attack, Ahmed Merabet, was himself Muslim, and died defending the free speech rights of the Hebdo reporters. Similarly, as we see with our own eyes across Long Island, Muslims (both native-born and immigrant) are playing vital roles in our civic culture. They are participating in and renewing the American Dream. We believe Long Islanders will recognize these attacks as an assault on the basic civic values we and our Muslim neighbors share.
Isma Chaudhry and Sadri Altinok, both Long Island Muslim leaders and Long Island Wins’ board co-chairs, said of the attacks, “We stand in solidarity against human atrocities in the name of Islam, and pray for world peace and harmony.”
